Corps looks at PFT standards for female Marines

1st Lt. Jessica Sproule and 1st Lt. Sarah Burns clear the pull up bar with their chins executing a proper pull up while exercising on Camp Lejeune recently.

Photo by John Althouse

By Thomas Brennan Thomas.Brennan@JDNews.com

Published: Monday, June 30, 2014 at 06:34 PM.

A change to female physical fitness standards may put the Corps’ move away from flexed arm hangs on hold.

The Marine Corps is expected to issue a directive this week that would maintain current standards allowing female Marines the option to perform either pull-ups or flexed arm hangs during their annual physical fitness test, or PFT, according to a public affairs officer with Headquarters Marine Corps. The change to pull-ups, which was initially announced in 2012, gave women the option to choose between the two exercises until Jan. 1 of this year, but was later extended to Monday to give women additional time to prepare. The extension, according to the official, would allow the Corps to gather more information regarding the integration of female Marines into combat-arms specialties.

The decision to allow additional time came in November after an internal study found that 55 percent of women in recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, could not perform the minimum number of pull-ups required. The move to pull-ups, according to the Corps’ official website, is to create a more gender-neutral fitness evaluation for Marines.

Fist Lt. Sarah Burns said that since mastering them she prefers traditional pull-ups over the flexed arm hangs because they give her more of a physical challenge. Given the option, Burns said she will continue to do pull-ups on her PFT for as long as they are authorized.

“Once you get your first pull-up, you gain a lot of self-confidence knowing that you can actually do a pull-up,” said Burns, with Headquarters and Support Battalion aboard Camp Lejeune who has been working on her pull-ups for the last year. “Before I got my chin over the bar the first time, there was a mental barrier; but once I successfully got my first one, I knew I was able to do more and that barrier began to break. Now, I love pushing myself to get more pull-ups.”

It’s more than just personal satisfaction for Burns, she said, adding that performing exceptionally well during any form of physical exercise makes Marines stand out in a positive way.

“I want other female Marines to not get discouraged and if they need to, look for someone to work on their pull-ups with them,” said Burns, 24, from Rochester Hills, Michigan. “You need to always seek improvement and never become complacent. We should always want to be better Marines and doing pull-ups is just one of the way to improve ourselves.”

A change to female physical fitness standards may put the Corps’ move away from flexed arm hangs on hold.

The Marine Corps is expected to issue a directive this week that would maintain current standards allowing female Marines the option to perform either pull-ups or flexed arm hangs during their annual physical fitness test, or PFT, according to a public affairs officer with Headquarters Marine Corps. The change to pull-ups, which was initially announced in 2012, gave women the option to choose between the two exercises until Jan. 1 of this year, but was later extended to Monday to give women additional time to prepare. The extension, according to the official, would allow the Corps to gather more information regarding the integration of female Marines into combat-arms specialties.

The decision to allow additional time came in November after an internal study found that 55 percent of women in recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, could not perform the minimum number of pull-ups required. The move to pull-ups, according to the Corps’ official website, is to create a more gender-neutral fitness evaluation for Marines.

Fist Lt. Sarah Burns said that since mastering them she prefers traditional pull-ups over the flexed arm hangs because they give her more of a physical challenge. Given the option, Burns said she will continue to do pull-ups on her PFT for as long as they are authorized.

“Once you get your first pull-up, you gain a lot of self-confidence knowing that you can actually do a pull-up,” said Burns, with Headquarters and Support Battalion aboard Camp Lejeune who has been working on her pull-ups for the last year. “Before I got my chin over the bar the first time, there was a mental barrier; but once I successfully got my first one, I knew I was able to do more and that barrier began to break. Now, I love pushing myself to get more pull-ups.”

It’s more than just personal satisfaction for Burns, she said, adding that performing exceptionally well during any form of physical exercise makes Marines stand out in a positive way.

“I want other female Marines to not get discouraged and if they need to, look for someone to work on their pull-ups with them,” said Burns, 24, from Rochester Hills, Michigan. “You need to always seek improvement and never become complacent. We should always want to be better Marines and doing pull-ups is just one of the way to improve ourselves.”

As Burns exercises around the base each morning, she said that over time she has seen more female Marines working on their pull-ups, working to meet the Marine Corps’ proposed standard. One of those Marines, 1st Lt. Jess Sproule, 25, of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, has chosen to do pull-ups during her last two fitness tests and has achieved maximum scores both times and just like Burns, will continue to do pull-ups during her PFT as long as she is authorized to do so.

“For me, I’d much rather do pull-ups because it’s much quicker than hanging on the bar for 70 seconds during the flexed arm hangs,” said Sproule, a maintenance management officer with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines on Camp Lejeune. “When I think of the women who came into the Marine Corps and are 18 to 21 years of age or those who are senior enlisted or officers, I think they should have the option to choose what to do on their PFT. It took me three years to get where I am at now. These things take time and it might be a very difficult transition for those groups.”

A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Sproule said she began mounting the pull-up bar during her years there as she became increasingly more involved in fitness. Currently able to do 10 pull-ups, she continues to push herself to stay well above the maximum so she will never earn less than the maximum on her PFT.

Being the only female in her unit, Sproule said that she feels her ability to do pull-ups has earned her more respect from her male colleagues by showing them that women are capable of doing pull-ups.

“My advice to those who struggle with their pull-ups is to make sure you’re at your ideal weight, because being unhealthy makes them more difficult,” Sproule said. “Do things to build your strength beside just doing pull-ups. I think if you do that, you’ll be more likely to be successful on the bar.”

For those who aren’t having as much success as Burns or Sproule when it comes to pull-ups and wish to improve the upper-body strength, Frank Castillo, a nationally certified personal trainer at Courts Plus Fitness Center in Jacksonville, said that every workout is personal and people need to do what works for them, not what works for someone else. Being aware of your own biomechanics, he said, is important so you don’t exceed your body’s range of motion, flexibility or stability and cause an unwanted injury, further slowing down your progress.

When beginning any new exercise, Castillo said that it is important to work your way up to something and not expect to surpass your fitness goals the first try. He added that the average woman carries their strength in their core and lower body, which can sometimes necessitate additional effort when compared to men. When practicing pull-ups, Castillo suggests using a variety of upper-body workouts such as rows and pull downs to further build their strength.

“People forget that it takes times to reach your fitness goals,” said Castillo, 28, of Jacksonville. “It’s important to remember things take time and that diving in head first can get you injured or lead to disappointment. It’s not about how much weight you can push but how hard you can push.”